(Diamond Reynolds live streams aftermath of shooting of Philando Castile)

Castile died in Minnesota on Wednesday (July 8), after being shot multiple times by a police officer during a routine traffic stop for a busted tail light.

Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds used the Facebook Live feature to stream the moments directly after shooting to the world - only the video was later temporarily removed from the social media service.

A spokesperson for Facebook has now clarified that the heartbreaking Philando Castile footage was taken off-line due to a technical issue, rather than for any violation of the site's terms of use.

"We're very sorry that the video was temporarily inaccessible," a Facebook spokesperson said in a press statement.

"It was down due to a technical glitch and restored as soon as we were able to investigate."